Kids Will Be Kids
by Orlissa
Summary: Cute, lighthearted one-shot about Zuko's experiences on parenting. Inspired by and dedicated to Em Dixon


**Kids Will Be Kids**

**I would like to dedicate this little piece to Em Dixon, whose To Soothe Away Your Ache served as a great inspiration for this :) And because I just simply adore her work. **

**Word count: 5018  
>Rating: K+<br>Disclaimer: [Insert funny text here that tells you that I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender]**

Zuko wouldn't have minded to have more of these slow, peaceful days in his life.

Summer had just started, and most nobles had already left the capitol for their vacation on Ember Island, leaving very little activity behind. He only had some longer memos coming from the few still existing colonies and a rather long letter from the Earth King – which, he assumed, bore more friendly content than political matters – to go through that day. If no disaster happened in the next week or two, even he could take his family to Ember Island for a short while, and maybe even take a half-diplomatic, half-family reunion trip to the South Pole.

He sighed and put down the memo he had just finished – it was a simple report, which held nothing what would have required him to take any action -, and stole a glance at his family, or at least, a part of it. In consideration of the nice weather, which was quite mild compared to the heat they had had that week, he had taken his paperwork out to the porch, so he could keep his eyes on his children, who spent their time outside as well.

Katara had taken their youngest, the five-month old Kaemon with her that day when she left with his mother to pay a visit to a local orphanage, if his memory served well, but their three other children were there, enjoying the afternoon sun, playing in the garden, with two nursemaids looking after them.

His firstborn, the eight-year-old Kizo, was going through one of the easier firebending katas. Zuko was very careful not to put pressure on them about bending, knowing well from his childhood experiences where could that lead. He got his children the best instructors he could find, helped them himself when he had time for it, but had never made an issue of it if one of them couldn't get the formulas right.

Right then Kizo was struggling with his kata. He realized that he wasn't doing something right, and Zuko could see how determined he was to get it right, even his little brows were furrowed in concentration. Zuko could easily spot where the problem was, and he was quite sure that Kizo would able to correct it himself in a few tries. And if he didn't, well, then he would show him as soon as he finished his work.

His younger sister, Lya, was standing a few steps from him, trying to copy her brother's moves. She was barely six, and had just started her bending training a few weeks ago. When she was born, Zuko secretly had hoped that she would turn out to be a waterbender, but she didn't. She was also just as fiery, proud, stubborn and hot-tempered as one would expect it from a firebender (Katara had simply declared that she had taken way too much after her father). Thank Agni that she had also inherited her mother's heart of gold and sweetness, otherwise she could have easily grown up to be quite problematic.

Her moves were sloppy at best; her arms too rigid, her turns too hasty, her long plait swinging from side to side wildly. She was really proud – sometimes Zuko thought a little bit too proud – of her hair. They hadn't had it cut ever since she was born, and now it was down to her hips. Most of the time she liked having it in a simple braid, one that so reminded him of Katara during the days of the war. He had even thought about convincing her to have hair loopies just like her mother used to when she was a teenager. He was convinced that she would be simply adorable with them.

His third child, another daughter by the name of Bin-bin, lay on her stomach on the grass a few yards from her siblings, near to the turtleduck pond. Her nursemaid sat next to her, and listened to the three-year-old go on and on about what had her grandma said about how she should make the ducklings eat from her hand.

It was too early to say anything, but Katara seemed to be rather sure that Bin-bin was a waterbender. She was sweet and quiet – not that it proved anything -, and most recently, she seemed to be enchanted by water, which his wife considered a tell-tale sign. She also added that after bearing him two firebenders, she more than deserved a waterbender on her own. Zuko didn't argue with her.

Everything was peaceful and quiet in the garden, with some baby-talk and occasional laughter in the background. He was sure he could finish his work in an hour or two and after that he could join his children. He could show Kizo and Lya the correct stances, maybe pick up the latter and tickle her until she squealed with delight – Kizo claimed that he was too old for that, even though Zuko knew that he was the more ticklish of the two -, and sit down next to Bin-bin, so she could tell him about the turtleducklings as well. And then in the evening, they could have a nice family dinner, all three kids trying to get his and Katara's and Ursa's attention, talking loud enough so the other siblings couldn't be heard, and then getting so excited that they couldn't go to sleep.

Yes, he could most definitely use more slow days like this.

He turned his attention back on his work, taking Kuei's letter from the pile. He was right – aside from the required pleasantries and some quite meaningless details about trading between the towns on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, the letter was mostly about how Bosco was getting senile with his old age (Zuko briefly wondered what would a senile bear do), and that he is starting to consider marriage. He also inquired if Zuko could give him some advice on that field. Upon reading this, he almost laughed out loud.

But just as he would have started writing his reply, something happened. In no more than a fraction of a second the garden was filled with frantic shouting and a child's frightened scream. He moved before realizing what was happening; he was already halfway to the scene, jumping over the banister separating the porch from the garden, when his brain processed what he was seeing.

Both of the nursemaids were around the crying form of Lya, while Bib-bin was staring at them helplessly, the corners of her mouth turning down, from where she was left by the pond, and Kizo was trying to look as small and stand as far from the scene as it was possible. Apparently, by the looks of it, Lya was standing too close to Kizo when a move went wrong, causing her to catch fire.

By the time Zuko reached them – which required no more than a blink of an eye, really – the fire had been already put out. He almost shoved the nursemaids out of the way as he tried to get to his daughter. He knelt down beside her, surveying the damage done to her, panic rising in his chest.

_ No, that can't happen to her._

He held her thin shoulders, trying to keep the frightened, wriggling girl in place. After a moment, it was clear to him that it was her braid what had caught on fire; most of her hair was now scorched, no more than black ash, emitting a terrible smell. But other than that, she seemed to be fine. The fire was stopped before it could have spread, and apart from her hair only her collar blackened a little, and the skin of the back of her neck became a little bit red, but it was no more severe than a sunburn. With some salve applied to it she would forget it by the next day. Apparently, she was more scared than hurt.

Zuko released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

He let go of Lya, and the little girl immediately wrung her hands around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. As he was rubbing soothing circles on her back, Zuko searched for his son who was trying to hide in the shadow of the nearby bushes. He looked into Kizo's eyes, and motioned him to come closer, trying to get the message to him that he wasn't in trouble – after all, it was an accident.

The little boy walked up to them at last, almost reluctantly, almost shyly. Zuko was just about to tell him that he shouldn't be afraid, that it wasn't his mistake, and really, nothing bad had happened, but he was still ought to be a little bit more careful with his little sisters around, when Lya suddenly let go of him and turned his brother, jabbing Kizo's chest with her finger. Zuko was sure that she'd learnt this gesture from her mother.

"You smelly snail sloth!" Lya yelled, completely unaware of herself. "Look what you have done to me!" She said, pulling the burned end of her braid forward, tears welling in her eyes again. "I hate you!"

Kizo's eyes widened for a moment, but he reconciled quickly, his demeanor changing in a flash to match his sister's.

"You are the one to talk? Why did you have to bother me while I was training? Why can't you just keep to your own stuff? Go and play with your dollies instead of shuffle with big boy stuff like firebending! It's all your fault!"

Lya retorted immediately, leaving Zuko too taken aback to intervene.

"I am a firebender, too! I was training, too! It was you who should have been carefuler! Right, daddy?" She was smart enough to turn to the authority – in case, to Zuko – to solve the problem and deliver justice, apparently in hopes that her father would side with her.

"Lya-" Zuko started, rising slowly, but Kizo cut in.

"You are such a little sissy! Of course, just turn to dad! You know what, I hate you too! I don't even understand why mum and dad had to have you! You are completely unbearable! I wish I was an only child!" He said, disregarding not only Lya, but his other siblings as well, without even realizing it.

Lya started crying again, but wouldn't let her brother have the last word.

"Well, I don't understand why they didn't give you away yet! I hate you!" She repeated just for good measure.

That was the point when Zuko had had enough. Until then, he was becoming more and more horrified with every passing second. He could almost feel the animosity radiating from his children. Yes, they had had fights before; what kind of siblings didn't? But they had never seemed to venture so far. It reminded him of his and Azula's childhood way too much for him to be comfortable. Were his children going to turn out to be just like them? Would they try to stab each other in the back in a few years' time?

He straightened his back, trying to look as regal and in charge as he could, and raised his voice to cut off their argument.

"That's enough!" He bellowed, and the children fell silent in an instant. "You two – both of you – should be deeply ashamed of yourselves!" Kizo and Lya looked up at him, now quite shy. It was a rare occurrence that their father used his strict voice on them and it was scary enough to make them stop quarrelling. "I am greatly disappointed in you. No, not because of the accident, Kizo," he added, looking at his son's crunched face. "But because of the way you two have just behaved. Brace yourselves, because your mother will be informed about this, and she won't be happy about it." Both of them tried to look as small as they could, avoiding Zuko's gaze completely. The mention of Katara took exactly the effect he was looking for. "Now, Kizo, go to your room. I am sure there is some history homework waiting for you there. Lya," he motioned one of the nursemaids to come closer, and directed his words to her. "Please, escort her to the barber; tell him to get rid of the burned hair. When he is done, take her to her room as well. She is to stay until this evening." When she bowed to him, he turned back to his children. "I don't want to see any of you until dinner. We will talk about it then, but until then think about what you did."

The two children, along with the nursemaid, left the garden like a defeated army, steps slow and shoulders slouched. When they were out of sight, Zuko let himself collapse on the nearby bench. This incident made nothing to improve his day.

It was the moment when Bin-bin deemed the situation calm enough and, completely ignoring her remaining nursemaid, walked over to her father from beside the pond. With some difficulties, she climbed on the bench, sat on her knees and turned to Zuko, her small face serious and sympathetic, her eyes dry.

"Wanna hug, daddy?" She opened her arms, inviting him in.

Zuko nodded, smiling in spite of himself, and gathered the little girl into her lap, where she instantly snuggled close to him, encircling his neck with her arms.

Well, at least one of his children took after her mother.

Whether it was a good or bad thing.

Katara and Ursa returned from the orphanage some hours later, and until then Zuko kept Bin-bin by himself, dismissing the nursemaid. She was a nice, quiet child, who seemed to be entirely content with painting while her father did his very serious work – what mostly consisted of writing a reply to Kuei. Zuko could only assume that the Earth King won't mind the alleged picture of the children's polar beardog cub (though Zuko at first guessed that it was supposed to be Kuei himself) painted by Bin-bin under his signature on the letter written for him, considering the content of the last one Kuei had sent him.

Apparently, servants talked and so news travelled fast in the palace, and Katara knew about the incident long before Zuko could have a chance to tell her about it himself. Technically, she was informed in the exact moment she stepped over the palace's threshold, and so the first she did upon arriving was to check on her daughter.

After she had made sure that Lya's braid was really the only casualty, she asked the girl about what had exactly happened. Lya answered, only she left that part about her and Kizo's argument out. So, no wonder that the next person Katara went to was Zuko, questioning him about why her innocent little daughter was grounded.

And he told her, down to every single small detail, while moving around the room, since he just couldn't keep still. He told her how it had happened in a blink of an eye, about how panicked he had been, who the children had turned on each other afterwards, and how he had punished them. He didn't forget to add his innermost fears about Kizo and Lya turning into him and Azula, going for each other's lives in a few years, or at least making the other's life miserable.

And honestly, Katara almost laughed at him.

"Correct me if I am wrong Zuko, but haven't you been a part of my family for more than a decade now?" At first, Zuko looked at her startled, stopping for a moment, then nodded, signaling that yes, he had been and continued walking back and forth in the room.

They were in their bedroom, Katara sitting cross-legged on the end of their bed, nursing Kaemon, while Zuko was technically wearing a path into the carpet.

"Then I am surprised that it seems that you haven't met my brother," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, just to help you to ease your mind, let me tell you that he is horrible. When we were younger, we used to have pretty crazy fights. What I am saying? We still have them."

Zuko tried not smile at hearing this. Right, it was not a rare occurrence that the two Water Tribe siblings raised their voices against each other. Even he had been witnessed many of them.

"Alright, I give you this, but still, you didn't hear them," he started, but Katara raised her hand to silence him.

"I didn't have to hear it to know what it was basically about. And anyway, you told me a rather accurate transcript of it." She pulled the baby from her breast, and handed him to Zuko so she could close her tunic. "Believe me, all sibling quarrels are usually the same. Don't tell me that you didn't have a bunch of them with Azula when you two were Kizo's and Lya's age." Zuko gave her a stern look, which didn't have the desired affect, considering that while doing so he had his son placed on his shoulder, gently rubbing his back. "Alright, maybe it wasn't exactly the same for you. But have I ever told you about how Sokka and I found Aang? We were fighting, Zuko, fighting over some miniscule thing. I got so mad at him that I thrown at him everything I had in mind – I am sure it did include that I wished that I was an only child -, and lost control of my bending. And we were twice the age than Kizo and Lya are now."

To be honest, Zuko found this story kind of endearing. Yes, Katara and Sokka did have some rough – and sometimes rather funny – rows, and he would have loved to see Sokka's face when his enraged sister accidentally moved an iceberg from the ocean. He was sure it had been priceless.

But of course, it didn't mean that it calmed him down.

"But-" He started, but Katara cut him off.

"Don't even start. I've heard enough. You are stressing over things that aren't worth stressing over at all. You'll see, by dinner they will be the sweet, good siblings they usually are, and all this incident will be forgotten." While speaking she stood up, stepped up to him and took back Kaemon to burp him. She pressed a kiss to his unscarred cheek, then smiled at him. "Alright? No worries."

Zuko smiled, too, and captured her lips, as if promising her to get over their children's quarrel.

He hoped that she would be right.

Dinner came, and it was nothing like Zuko had expected it to be that afternoon.

He sat on the head of the table, his mother opposite of him, Katara on his right, Lya on his left. Traditionally that was supposed to be Kizo's place, but it seemed like Lya, whose hair didn't even reach her shoulders anymore, thought that it was strategically very important to get to sit by his father, assuming that this way she had his protection. At least, it was important enough to risk her brother's wrath. Kizo, at the same time, situated himself next to Katara, giving his sister a clear message that if she was relying on their father, then he would rely on their mother.

Lya kept her gaze stubbornly fixed on Katara, but Zuko caught her now and then glance at her brother menacingly. None was said between them, and even Bin-bin, who sat on Lya's other side, and who was usually quite a chatterbox during family meals, kept quiet. Zuko couldn't decide whether it was because she was scared, or was only sympathizing with her siblings. All the small-talk around the table was made by the adults.

So much for the kids forgetting what had happened that afternoon.

It was a far cry from the normal, cheerful dinner they usually had, and it pained Zuko. He wanted to do something – maybe something stupid – to retrieve the children's happy demeanor, but the look Katara's face gave him told him not to act, but wait. This problem would solve itself, they just had to give it time.

Well, he did give it time, but nothing seemed to change. After more than half an hour and two courses, he started to loose hope. He decided that if none of them did anything by the time the remains of the dessert were cleared, he would keep them by the table and talk with them. No matter what Katara had said.

But until then, he stuck to only observing his children. After some time Bin-bin started to loosen up and talk to Ursa, who was sitting on her other side; the topic was that certain drawing on his letter to Kuei, which she was apparently rather proud of. Kizo sat uptight, with an almost arrogant look on his face, which was way too mature for him, while Lya was by then openly glaring at him, sometimes touching her short hair, as if making an accusation.

Zuko sighed.

And then, the dessert was finally served, and its sight finally made the children really perk up. It was fruit pie – but not some everyday fruit pie, but that extraordinary kind, which was an Air Nomad specialty, and had been reintroduced to the world only a few years ago by Aang. It was delicious beyond words and all of his children loved it. To say that it was their favorite would be an understatement.

When the plates were placed in front of them Zuko expected his children to forget every ounce of etiquette that Katara and Ursa tried to drill into them, and dig in. Bin-bin really did that, smearing the pie all over her small face, making both her mother and grandmother smile. Lya also started eating, though she tried to do it with a little bit more dignity; after all, now she did everything to show everybody that she was better than her brother. But Kizo didn't even touch his slice.

He looked at it uneasily, the look on his face almost sad, then shyly at Lya, then at his mother, as if asking something, then at his pie again, his hands halfway to the plate. Zuko just couldn't place this gesture. What was going on? He also looked at Katara, hoping that she understood their son's antics. She just barely tilted her head to Kizo's direction, telling him without word that he should pay attention to what he was about to do.

Whatever Kizo was having a hard time deciding about, the debate in his mind finally ended, and he rose, picking up his plate. Zuko watched his every movement with unconcealed interest. All the conversation died around the table, as everybody turned their attention on the boy. He slowly rounded Zuko, passing behind him and finally stopping next to Lya. The girl stopped eating and turned to his brother, clearly interested in what he was doing – even so much that she seemed to forget that she was supposed to hold a grudge.

Kizo hesitated for a moment, then set the plate down next to Lya's and got down on his knees, bowing to his sister respectfully – maybe a little bit too respectfully in Zuko's opinion -, his forehead touching the floor. Lya watched him, surprised.

"I am sorry!" It finally broke out of Kizo. Zuko felt Katara's hand on the top of his. He looked at his wife and her eyes told him that this was the moment she had mentioned him earlier. He turned his gaze back to his children and watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes.

Meanwhile, Kizo sat up, his hands on his knees and he continued his apology. Lya was still too surprised to say anything.

"I really should have been more careful," he was saying. "If only I looked behind my back before doing that move, my fire wouldn't have hit you. I am so sorry Ly-Ly!" He slowly pushed the plate closer to her. "I want you to have this. You have earned it. I didn't." He looked up at Zuko before he continued. "And daddy was right; I shouldn't have said those nasty things. I really love you, Ly-Ly. I wouldn't have anybody else as my sister. I was stupid, Ly-Ly. Can you forgive me?"

That was the moment when something in Lya broke. Tears welled in her eyes and she threw her arms around his brother's neck, sobbing into his tunic.

"I shouldn't have said those things, either!" She pulled away and wiped her tears away with her fists. "I was just like the mean komodo rhino in Grandma's bedtime stories." She took Kizo's plate in her hands and offered it to him. "You should have it, not me. And you should have mine, too." She said in her tinkling voice, putting the plate down, picking up her own, and clumsily pushing it to Kizo, not even caring about that she had already eaten some of it.

Zuko could actually see the inner turmoil in his son's eyes. He wanted to be fair; he still thought that Lya should have his slice as well, but then again, there were two slice – well, one and a half - offered to him. It was too much of a temptation.

In the end honor won, and he pushed back Lya's plate back to her.

"No, you have this. I have mine. We both have one. That's fair." He said, with the tone of finality in his voice. Lya smiled at him, still teary-eyed, and everything seemed to be forgotten.

That was the moment Katara decided to let her voice to be heard.

"I have every reason to tell you two that neither of you can have that pie tonight, you know that, right?" Yes, here came the reprimand. The children immediately turned their gazes on their knees. Well, yes - for what effect Zuko had to raise his voice against his children, Katara only had to say a few quite words. He assumed that it had something to do with being a mother, because Ursa still could make him feel like he was a child, caught with his hand in the cookie jar. That was why he usually let Katara deal with the discipline.

Kizo, acting like the brave big boy he'd claimed himself to be, courageously spoke up before Lya could have said a word.

"Mum, we are really, really sorry, and we know…" What they knew Zuko never found out, because Kizo never got to finish his sentence.

"But you have really made me proud now." Katara said, speaking to both Kizo and Lya. Kizo tried to avoid his mother's gaze, while Lya fiddled with her hair. "It wasn't nice what you did this afternoon, but by apologizing, you have corrected your misdoings. So, this time I will forgo your punishment, and I hope that you have learned you lesson. Zuko?" She turned to him, asking with her eyes whether he had anything else to say. But what could he add to her perfect parenting?

"Your mother is right. And…" He stopped there. And? "…you have to be tolerant of each other. Look out for each other. And don't let you pie go cold."

His last sentence made all three children giggle, even Bin-bin, who sat through the whole scene without a word. Lya almost leapt up from her seat, hugged Zuko and kissed his cheek, then she did the same with Katara, and, skipping to the other side of the table, she hugged and kissed her grandmother as well, every past grudge forgotten. On her way back to her place, she even placed a small peck on Bin-bin's round face, making her giggle even more.

Kizo stood up, picking up his plate, and started walking back to his place, but stepped in front of Zuko. He hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly hugged his father with one arm – after all, he was way too big for kissing his father. But it wasn't degrading for him to peck his mother and grandmother on their cheeks. Zuko couldn't help but smile at this.

After this, everything seemed to get back to normal – that kind of pre-that-afternoon normal. There was no more glaring, no more siding with one of the parents, no more tension sitting by their side around the table. No-one spoke, only ate his or her pie in silence. But still, Zuko missed something.

After a minute or two, Kizo looked up from his pie, turning his eyes on Lya. As she was eating, her hair was constantly falling into her face, and even though she tried to tuck it behind her ears, it wouldn't stay there.

"And I am sorry about your hair, too, Ly-Ly." Lya looked up as well, her eyes now free of anger. "I know how you loved it having long," He said it in a small voice. Then his eyes suddenly lit up as something came into his mind. "You know what? We could have my hair cut, too!" And he was already fumbling with the leather cord keeping his phoenix's tale in place. Katara tried to stop him, but he was way too engrossed in his idea. "Maybe I could have it like Uncle Sokka has on those old pictures. Can I, Mum?" She turned to Katara.

"Kizo, I don't think it's a…" She started, but Zuko cut her off in the middle of the sentence.

"Why? I like the idea." And then Lya started speaking as well.

"Yes! And maybe you could have one of those little hair-thingies with a bead on the end, like the ones Grandpa has!"

And that was the moment Bin-bin just simply had to join the conversation, making technically all three children speak at the same time, their desserts forgotten.

"Mummy, Daddy, can I have a new hair, too? I wanna!"

Yes, that was exactly what Zuko was missing: the constant, almost deafening chatter of his children.

He wouldn't have had it otherwise.

**A/N: As for the names – Kizo comes from Kiyo, the name of one of the male protagonists in Richelle Mead's Dark Swan series. I only read the first book so far, and I fell in love with the name. Only, to make it more "Fire Nation" I changed the y to z :) pathetic, I know. Lya is pure egoism. My actual given name is Orsolya, which is pronounced as OR-sho-ya, but because of the "ly" which is only one word in Hungarian, almost no non-Hungarian can pronounce it right :D And when I was in London this summer, somebody pronounced it like OR-sho-li-a. I liked it so much that I decided to use the last three letters as Zuko and Katara's oldest daughter :) And anyway, Orsolya comes from the same word as Ursa :P As for Bin-bin, it's an actual Chinese name. I found it in Jung Chan's Wild Swans – she was a very minor character, only present for about three lines, but these three lines were about her name, and it was its meaning that caught me. It means 'gentle'. And Kaemon – well, that was funny :D I asked my best friend to name him. At first, she remembered him to be a girl, and collected girl names. After I told him that he was actually a boy, she looked up some boy names as well. After going through about a dozen, we were torn between two: Kaemon – joyous, right handed - and Hiro - generous. He was almost Hiro. It seemed to be like a good name for a prince, it sounded like 'hero', and as my best friend said, it matched a cute baby well. So he was technically named Hiro, then I realized that it had exactly the same vowels as Kizo, making it a little bit difficult telling them apart. So in the end he was named Kaemon :) **


End file.
